


Paterson Headcanons

by mellodywrites



Category: Paterson (2016)
Genre: Backstory, Death of Grandfather, F/M, Military Background, Warning for the following, car crash, death of parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25066168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellodywrites/pseuds/mellodywrites
Summary: I had the wonderful honour to collaborate with @ohiobluetip (or supersoakerx here on ao3) on these hcs of our dear sweet poet, thank you my darling! xxx <3
Relationships: Paterson/Reader, Paterson/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Paterson Headcanons

## Family

  * Was close with his parents, Heather and Jim, but they died when he was 15
  * Heather dabbled in writing poetry, and it especially picked up soon after Pat was born. She couldn’t help pouring out all the love she had in her heart for her beautiful baby boy
  * When he was a little bit older, Heather wrote a small story about the days her and Pat would share together. They talked about it a lot, and Heather wrote it out on individual pages and Pat illustrated it
  * They died in a car crash on an afternoon drive while Pat was staying with his Grandfather
  * This is why Paterson doesn't drive. The memory of the incident too heartbreaking for him to ever get behind the wheel
  * Close with his Grandfather, who was also named Paterson
  * The Name is passed to their firstborn son, a tradition started with _his_ Grandpa
  * Grandfather’s favourite song is ‘Swinging on a Star’ by Bing Crosby
  * Grandpa died when Pat was 25
  * Paterson grew up as an only child. For a while, he often felt lonely but took solace in poetry and his close friends



##  **Growing up**

  * Creative child, always drawing or writing something, parents read to him always
  * As a young child, 5 years old, wrote stories about princesses and bugs and animals and buses and dragons - anything he could think of!
  * Loved watching the Sunday movies with his family on the old TV they had. Sometimes, his Mum would let him eat his favourite movie treat - cookie dough ice cream.
  * Pat always caught the bus with his Mum, or Dad, or Grandpa to different places, like the park or the movies.
  * He’d love to sit and watch the world go by, or read a picture book with them
  * He thinks back to the memories of riding the bus moreso than even the places he went with his family
  * He thinks that might be why he ended up being a bus driver, in the end, because of the happy memories and joyful feelings he remembers from his youth stuck with him
  * He always said hello and thank you to the bus driver, giving them a little wave and a smile



##  **Tween/Teen Years**

  * He was introduced to poetry when he went to live with his Grandpa one summer (12 years old)
  * He helped with odd jobs around the house and garden, which is where he learned that his favourite flowers are Forget-Me-Nots
  * Pat found Grandpa’s collection of books, in a huge library, and absorbed everything he could, reading and feeling and writing
  * Kept to himself in school, had very few but very reliable and sweet friends
  * One boy, Matt
  * One girl, Kiera
  * Both moved away for college, and he wrote them letters
  * He was deep, and very sensitive
  * Often trying to make sense of and articulate his feelings of the people and world around him
  * He moved in with his Grandpa when he was 15, after his parents died
  * Was a teenager in the late 90s, early 2000s, into grungey music and clothes and the poetry of the Romantics
  * He did experiment with guy liner but found it wasn’t for him, and painted his nails but got annoyed when it kept chipping, so he stopped that too
  * His favourite poets were Emily Dickinson and John Keats



##  **After School**

  * He worked a couple of jobs while he applied for scholarships to get into arts programs
  * He tried the local amateur theatre and dabbled in photography, always writing poetry on the side
  * He loved going to second-hand stores and garage sales for old books of poems
  * Began teaching himself to sketch, the Passaic Falls being a heavy interest of his to draw
  * Then he started sketching portraits
  * Wifey is his inspiration for those



##  **The Army**

  * At 20 he enters the army, being unsuccessful at getting into further education
  * At 25, he’s discharged, having broken his sternum and never letting it properly heal.
  * Months later, his Grandpa died. It was a bad year for Pat.



##  **After the Army – Laura**

  * After the army he was pleased to land a gig at NJ Transit, good benefits(?) you know, and he could still make his art on the side, which was what he really cared about doing
  * At 27, he meets Laura while walking to the bar one evening



##  **Laura**

  * Pat falls in love with Laura
  * They marry when he’s 30 and she’s 29
  * Their marriage starts off fine, they're both genuinely happy with each other
  * But they start to go downhill when Laura loses her job and decides that they can survive on only one income
  * Laura leaves Pat (at the end of Paterson) when he’s 32 and she’s 31, because:
  * His reaction to the loss of poetry freaks her out, she can’t deal with the way he quietly mourns and copes with his emotions in his own way
  * She feels like he’s stifling her creativity and not doing enough to support her
  * She tells him to keep Marvin cause it would just remind her of him



##  **Self / Personality**

  * Favourite colour is sky blue
  * Favourite music is big band, acoustic guitar
  * Is a cat person
  * Has a ginger cat named Pickles that he gets for Wifey when they’re pregnant, so she’s not all alone on maternity leave
  * Pickles is always slinking up along his ankles, always gets up into his lap for a nap on his huge warm thighs
  * Pat always talks to the cat, asks Pickles how Wifey was today, did he look after her, etc.
  * Pickles is a very talkative and affectionate cat who talks back and nuzzles into Pat’s legs
  * His patience can rival the greats. If Wifey is ever struggling with something or has to vent he will be right beside her, waiting, till she calls for help
  * A dream of his is to be a father. Will absolutely help Wifey throughout the whole ordeal
  * Ready to be at her side beck and call
  * To know that he and Wifey brought such a beautiful thing into the world has him brimming with tears
  * Pat is a homebody and loves to make home a place of comfort and happiness
  * He giggles hysterically at puns



##  **How old is Pat in Paterson?**

  * Born 11th July 1984
  * He is 32 years old
  * Paterson's zodiac is cancer. He is very much in tune with his emotions as well as the emotions of others, often being able to read people based on the vibes he picks up from them
  * Protective of the people close to him
  * Always willing to give a helping hand



##  **Hanging out**

  * Loves to go to movies and bookstores and second-hand markets with Wifey
  * Goes to weekend BBQs at Doc’s and Donnie’s
  * Has a poker night at Donnie’s with fake money because he doesn’t like gambling
  * Plays chess with Doc
  * Is the landlord of his Grandpa’s property, so goes there sometimes to do maintenance of the house and yard



##  **Hobbies**

  * They are his favourite animal, and he loves admiring the stunning colours some of the birds have watching as they take flight off the nearest tree or perch. He wonders a lot what it would be like to be a bird, flying free with the wind blowing through your wings. (He may have written a few poems about it too lil cutie)
  * Window shopping. Paterson likes looking at pretty things (esp Wifey), it also brings him inspiration for his poems - about a little doll and the life they have had taking care of a little kid from their nightmares, a second-hand book and all the underlined words, scribbles and thoughts written in the margins etc.
  * Postcard collecting (from around the world). There’s a little second-hand store around the corner from Paterson that sells a huge collection of them
  * After Laura left, Paterson wanted to make the house his own and make it as cosy as possible so he took up quilting in his spare time to bring some warmth to the house



  


  



End file.
